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According to court documents, the high school student and her parents visited Atlantic City to celebrate her birthday in May 2019. They stopped at the McDonald's on Arkansas Avenue near Tanger Outlets Atlantic City before returning home to Staten Island, NY.
The lawsuit said a cashier refused to serve the teen and her father, telling them to order and pay from a kiosk. When the girl's father couldn't operate the kiosk, the manager told them that they could order from the cashier at the counter.
The suit said when the cashier refused to serve them again, the teen started to cry and the cashier said to "shut up or she would smack" her. The cashier is also accused of telling the girl and her parents that she would not serve their "white ass."
The family was never served at the restaurant, which is operated by franchisee A&R Enterprises. The lawsuit also claims the teen was so upset from the incident that she urinated herself.
The family of the teen, who is now an adult, accused the McDonald's employees of discrimination based on disability and intentionally causing her emotional distress.
"As a direct and proximate result, [the] plaintiff has and will continue to suffer permanent and irreparable physical and psychological damages," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit claims other people have also experienced harassment at the McDonald's location. The family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages to prevent the restaurant "from continuing this practice and to punish them for subjecting their customers to a known and unreasonable risk or serious harm."
Daily Voice has reached out to McDonald's to comment on the lawsuit. The company has not responded as of Thursday, Feb. 8.
About two months before the accusations in the lawsuit, the McDonald's on Arkansas Avenue was also the scene of a viral video showing a brawl on Saturday, Mar. 30, 2019. Atlantic City police said three 17-year-old girls and a 21-year-old Pleasantville man were charged in the fight.
Investigators said one girl went behind the counter and assaulted an employee. A second girl jumped on top of the counter and pepper sprayed a security officer in the face.
Lawyers for the family accusing the restaurant of discrimination filed the lawsuit in Atlantic County Superior Court on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
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